La Boheme – on Sydney Harbour – Mrs Macquaries Point

Last week I flew to Sydney from Melbourne to catch up with my sister Paula, daughter Sarah and nieces Rachael and Penny. Paula, Penny and Rachael flew to Sydney from Perth.

We arrived on the Tuesday, I flew via Virgin and Paula and crew flew Qantas. I hadn’t told Paula who I was flying with so when I landed I sent them a message that I was heading to baggage claim 1 they headed there also. The Qantas one not the Virgin. Then I said got my bag heading outside. So they did also. Comedy of errors. A couple of phone calls later and I realized that at no stage had I said I was flying Virgin. So it was a lets meet up at the train station. We actually caught up with each other on the way to the train station. That is the beauty of Sydney, you can catch a train to the city instead of relying on Taxis or Uber. Finally we were on our way to our apartment in Darlinghurst.

Split level, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on the main floor, then downstairs kitchen, dinning room, lounge and huge balcony. There was also a third toilet off the kitchen. Considering I am still in rehab for my knee injury and Paula has rheumatoid arthritis in both knees, this was going to be fun. Somehow we managed.

On the Wednesday our first treat was the Opera. A few years ago I had gone to see Aida with Paula. We were all looking forward to an amazing night. The backdrop with the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a sight that if you can, do so.

The Opera tonight was La Boheme. Puccini was the composer, born in Tuscany in 1858. He was renowned for his love affairs, leaving broken hearts across Italy. He also left us 10 beautiful Operas, 3 of which are in the top 10 performed Operas around the world.

On a hot Autumn night in Sydney we would be transported to a bohemian Paris in the 1960’s. The first flakes of snow would swirl down on us in the audience. The Opera house and the Harbour Bridge glowing in the night-light. Fireworks would light up the sky!

The cheat sheet for the Opera is :” A poet, painter, a musician and a philosopher walk into a bar to celebrate a sudden windfall in a lean winter. It’s Christmas Eve, and the poet has just felt the first pangs of great love. When a seamstress knocks on his door searching for candlelight, the pair fall in love faster than she can sing “Yes, they call me Mimi…”

Between the ideals of love and art and the cruel realities of cold winters, bitter jealousies and empty pockets, two sets of lovers are trying to find their way.

By the time the curtain falls, you’ll know the answer to an eternal question:

My heart ached for the love between Mimi and Rodolfo and tears slowly flowed down my face. I shuddered as pulled my scarf in close over my shoulders, was I cold from the snow or from the love of these two people.